Faithful Followers

Thursday, November 8, 2007

OK, for the hundred or so of you who wrote me asking what the heck a palindrome is - it's a word that reads the same forwards and backwards. Eye, Bob, Dad, and Racecar are all palindromes. The really, really, really long comment was an insanely huge palindrome that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but read the same way backwards as it did forwards.OK, this concludes our English lesson for today. Join us tomorrow when we explore the fun and exciting world of alliteration!

So, I was watching Mythbusters with my family this evening. My older kids love this show. Although I find the show entertaining, it scares the snot out of me that one of my kids will try to imitate one of their experiments. I just know I'll walk into my son's room some afternoon and see him with a scale model of the Hindenberg on fire, or a rocket made from a scuba tank, or a pig's stomach filled with Coke and Pop Rocks, just waiting to explode.

So, I'm watching the show tonight and they're testing a myth about shrinking jeans. The myth was that if you put on a pair of tight jeans and sit in a tub of hot water for six hours, your jeans will shrink so much that they'll cut off your circulation and you could either lose a limb or develop a blood clot.

I have to admit that I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the results of this experiment as I was still stuck on the WHY? of the whole thing. As in - why on earth would anyone want to purposefully shrink their jeans?! I can't think of a single reason. Jeans shrink enough in the dryer, thankyouverymuch. I actually think it's a bad thing when you have to lie flat on your back on your bed, suck in your abdomen until your stomach actually hits your spine, exhale, use a pair of pliers to grab the zipper and pull with all your strength. If you succeed in getting the pants fastened, you then have to find a way to get up off the bed. I've found a crane works well.

OK, so your pants are fastened and you're standing upright. Now you have to learn to walk like Frankenstein because you can't bend your legs and God forbid you breathe or eat anything while wearing your tight pants of death. The extra food in your stomach could cause your jeans to stretch just a millimeter too far resulting in a dangerous situation. If the button holding your pants up should pop off, it could ricochet at speeds over 100 mph and seriously injure an unsuspecting passerby. These things have been known to poke out eyes.

Anyway, my point is - if you think your jeans just aren't tight enough, you1. have obviously not had six kids2. have not eaten enough of your kids' Halloween candy3. may be a super model4. are testing out a Mythbusters theory, or lastly5. you're this guy...

Dawn,You're awesome, I was laughing so hard I was crying and all 3 of my boys came out and go "Mom what's wrong" Do you know hard it is to explain you are laughing at something you are reading at the computer? My 14.5 year old goes, 'really mom laughing at the computer, how lame!' and walked off. ROFLThanks for the laughs.

I liked the episode where they resurfaced a sunken boat with a gazillion ping pong balls. Now THAT was a show with a lot a practical information - IF you were ever on a sinking ship that happened to be carrying a giant cargo of ping pong balls. It could happen.

Oh, I love/hate that show too! I was thrilled to know that if I could dive at least 4 feet into water while someone is shooting at me with a high-powered rifle, the water will slow the bullet's trajectory and not kill me. (I sincerely hope to never need this information).

I'm also slightly worried my kids will try attaching rockets to the swing in an attempt to make the swing complete a 360 degree arc.

I watched one where they had a fake kid on a swing and were trying to get the swing to do a complete circle over the bar. I sometimes stop and watch it for a minute when I'm flipping to the food network or something!

I do a little dance to get into my jeans, since the problem isn't the stomach so much as it is the thighs. My husband finds it quite entertaining. Then again, when his pants get to tight, he just goes out and buys new ones.

Alrighty, and this is why I admire/cannot ever be you...because, I would have sent the Palindrome enquirers to a how-to site for "Getting your GED after your College Degree" or, at the very least an on-line ESL course.Oh well, as they said on my 2nd grade report card, "Someday Stacey will have patience with others who are not as quick as she." Keep praying!

Mythbusters can be a good show to watch - this article was from one of Australia's major news papers todayhttp://www.smh.com.au/news/national/schoolboy-julians-lifesaving-mythbuster-moment/2007/11/08/1194329387281.html

Dawn, my kids love Mythbusters too. Also the Dirty Jobs show, and others on the Discovery Channel. I actually am enjoying watching more "grown up" shows with them instead of the usual cartoons or Disney shows.

I remember squeezing into my Jordache Jeans in the early 80's....I can't believe my mother let me out of the house in those disgustingly skin tight things....gross! I seriously remember wishing the pants were tighter....I was super skinny back then and I am sure I looked like chicken legs in those jeans.....freaky!

What no homophones? Really, you're slipping on the parts of speech. I love Mythbusters but fear one day my kids will imitate it. Would be great material for my blog, however.Do we get bonus points if we know the group you are referring to in the pic (Right Said Fred)?

I was watching the same episode with my kids. If you care to know, there was a doctor who said it was entirely possible to produce a blod clot and die from jeans that are too tight, but the Mythbusters' experiments did not show those results.

Yeah, my jeans seem to shrink plenty without my sitting in a tub of hot water. At least, I think they're shrinking. Or I'm expanding - but that's okay, because the whole universe is expanding, the way I understand it.

Dawn,I ran across this product while looking at Waterless Car Wash.http://www.oopsiebabycleaner.com/I have no affiliation with it, so I am not making anything off it.With 4 Grandchildren, it looks interesting.Love your website.Roger

Sadly I remember the days of trying to squeeze my fat ass (which I know realize wasn't really all that fat at the time, but has certainly grown over the years) into the tightest pair of jeans I could find. The hardest thing to learn was how to sit down once they were on without splitting them open. And how to breath. lol

My son came over and laughed himself silly - he LOVES Mythbusters - and if we ever finish the remodel on the the house he wants to do his room over into a Mythbusters room. ANd yes he has his own Buster!

You have effectively scared the snot out of me. My boys watch that show with my husband sometimes. They aren't old enough to be able to try some of the stuff yet but its just a matter of a few more years until the oldest is.

I'm scared.

And your proficiency with paint is impressive. You boys look amazingly like Jamie and Adam! It's kind of creepy.

I LOVE that show almost as much as DIRTY JOBS! Have you seen that one? The host is a riot!

I might be to "young" to remember shrinking jeans but I do remember FADE AND WASH. I think that was the name. Do you remember buying perfectly good dark jeans and then putting them in the wash to make them all old looking? Ha, ha.

Thanks for the chuckle and a few memories of things we did in the 70's. Beats what kids are doing today - eh?

LOL!!! My mom said my aunt used to keep a spray bottle in her bedroom to wet her jeans just enough that she could zip them up with pliers. I just cannot believe dressing like that... I know real fashion is pain, but that is just plain masochistic!!!

I don't like MythBusters. Those guys are kind of lame. I am more of a Dirty Jobs fan.

I remember doing that! Of course, I only weighed 108 pounds and thought I was "fat" too. I graduated in 1973, so I was teen in the 70's too! LOL! Now I hardly ever even buy a pair of pants with a zipper and that 108 is a distant memory.

Your boys could totally be stand-ins for that show!! They look just like them. I love the black hat!! And when I was in college we loved our jeans tight!! Then we tried to ride horses with those extremly tight jeans. I used to use a hanger to help me zip up my jeans. Now I resort to pajama pants!! They are a lot easier!!!

That's such a good question - WHY would anyone shrink their jeans on purpose? I know when I've put on a few pounds because I have to do that whole suck in your gut thing after the jeans come out of the dryer. Of course, then I don't want to wear them as I fear I'll wind up with what my sister has affectionately called "muffin top" - where the flab on the top spills over the top of the too-tight pants creating the muffin top (and no, not the kind Seinfeld popularized!).

That show is a big hit at our house too!! Mt olders boys love it! I got a little worried one day though when my son asked where he could buy a pig's stomach!? He wanted to do the mentos and diet coke thing his science project!! Yah, I don't thinks so. Just what I need the possibility of an exploding pigs stomach in my kitchen!!

Dawn,Your boys make the perfect Adam and Jamie-ahhhhhhhh I love the digi-drawn facial hair and glasses! Seriously funny stuff here. FYI, in lieu of fireworks this past 4th of July, my 9 yr old went through 15 2-liter bottles of diet coke and a massive bag of mint Mentos. I was sure we'd be kicked out of the Kroger parking lot where he was enjoying his Patriotic carbonated blast atop a sewer grate. Thanks for being you, Eva (www.freshandvintage.typepad.com)

I too have watched "Mythbusters" with my husband and 5 kids (3 of which are boys). I must say, in my husband's words, "Boys just like fire or anything that can explode, blow up, or something cool like that." We got a good laugh when my 9 year old son, Joshua, announced, "Me....Make... FIRE" when he was able to keep a stick burning while lounging at our campfire. My husband was soo proud.

My kids' absolute favorite Mythbusters: testing the myth if beans makes one pass gas more than other foods. AHH.... a whole show devoted to the "art of the fart" as my kids call it! Just hearing the sound effects created to document the number of times that gas was passed was hilarious.

Well I am relieved that my 13 yr. old son is not the only one watching Myth Busters. I have said that if he spent as much time on school as he does watching Myth Busters he would have straight A's. I keep hoping that he will learn something on that show and will come up with some great invention and make millions. Or at the very least not hurt anyone trying to duplicate something he saw.

I can so relate to the jeans. My sister and I have been discussing starting to wear our jeans now, a little each day, at home (in case we pass out) to stretch them so they are comfortable enough to wear at Thanksgiving!

I was snarfling at how funny your description of getting those jeans on were!!... My Mom actually told me the lay down and suck in your tummy trick when I was a teen (she did so in the 50's apparently).. I am looking forward to when the ultra-low slung are OUT so that when so many people in the supermarket for instance, bend over to get something I don't inadvertently get to see the place where their sun doesn't shine!! Ewwww!

oh no!! alot of people seem to think that marie lee has alot of time on her hands to type out that ridiculously long palindrome. or that she is just ridiculously bored. (she did NOT invent the said palindrome) yeah she cudda posted a link, but seriously, how many pple actually click on links. i know i dont. i like to be spoon fed. so, i CUT and PASTED the palindrome. for u! yeah i took me a while to scroll the mouse to highlight it but hey, whats a few seconds. yay for effiecient and not ridiculously boring marie lee. goooooooo google! peas. whirrled peas indeed.

Since you have so many readers, when I had a problem with an on-line product and the company's lack of customer service, I figured this was a great place to have my consumer warning read. To ALL - DO NOT, DO NOT buy the Gobblin Mosquito Eater from Davros Developments. The website makes is sound really great, but it doesn't work AT ALL. I sent the part back for a refund and there has been NO RESPONSE for the $170 they owe me - after many, many emails and phone calls.

So, now my mission is to give them all the bad advertising I can. DON'T get sucked in like I did. (no pun intended). DON'T buy the Gobblin. Thanks for reading.

I guess I'm the first to wonder if the myth was really busted- do jeans keep on shrinking? I'd actually love to find out how to either add half a size to a pair of jeans or lose half a size from a pair. I gave up my old clothing size after Baby2, but I'm between sizes now. So there really are people out there who could use this! And not supermodel bodies either!

ROFL, Dawn, as usual. The images conjured up by the pig bladder with pop rocks and coke, and the Hindenberg experiments all as a result of that TV Show were hilarious...and yes, a good reason to be wary with boys in the house, LOL!

As for pulling up jeans with pliers, I grew up in Washington State, and did this with my "Seattle Blues" jeans...except that I eventually found the need to employ the use of a ruler to hold my stomach down so it didn't get caught in the zipper, lol. That was the 1970's-80's version of the corset, I suppose. The girls of today have tried to do this as well, except that low rise jeans don't have as much staying power, and everything spills over the low rise waist in the form of an unattractive spare tire or love handles. Not pretty.

Ah, jeans...the bane of my existance! If there is enough room in the trunk, they gap at the waist,..if they fit in the waist, they are way too tight in the trunk and I walk like I have a tree branch stuck,.. (you know)! Thank goodness for yoga pants! Another show on Discovery that my kids watch is Bear Grylls (sp?), he is seriously hard core, I think I'd have to just die rather than drink my own urine or bite the head off of a live fish and eat it. Yucky! Give me death!http://LifeAccordingtoLizzy.Blogspot.com

You don't remember those shrink-to-fit jeans from jr high / high school days? I think you're only a few years older than I am. But it's true - no one really wants to see that unless you have the body of a supermodel!

My brother tried to do one of the myths. It didn't work... But, he had alot of fun! It's the myth that you get an empty 2 liter drink bottle, and put a little bit of water in it. You then fix this little air pump to the lid, and pump in air. When you take the pump off of the top, the bottle shoots into the air, spraying you with water. Be careful though, if you put too much air in it, then it will shoot up on it's own. My brother loved to tape an action figure McDonald's thingy to it, and let it fly. It's a good summer day activity.

-Marissa

p.s. The Mythbuster episode was nothing like that at all. They put gallon bottles on their backs and parachuted themselves over water. But they didn't try it, because the dummy they did it with got all beat up.

Long time reader, first time writer. My father and I love palindromes. Me because I am easily amused (mmm bendy straw) and my dad because he was an english teacher of 37 years. My two favorites include:Lonely TylenolIm alas a salami

I tried posting this thing three times... let's see if this time takes. I await the lesson on alliteration.

I avoided the whole tight jeans thing because I attended a school from 1972 until 1980 that did not allow girls to wear pants. I do agree with the comments about the low rise jeans though. Those in combination with the "belly" shirts, look good on no one I've ever seen.

Soooo confused why anyone would lay in a bathtub for 6 hours to see if their jeans shrink...And I like your one word...thankyouverymuch...LOLI use that word ALL THE TIME!! You're too cute, and i'm glad i'm not the only one who's needed a crane to get off of the bed.

Love your blog!! At my high school in the 80's it was Calvin Kleins. Remember the "Nobody comes between me and my Calvins"-- Yeah, they were soooooo tight you couldn't fit anything else in there! Also you always had to take a friend to the bathroom with you to help you get the zipper back up 'cause you couldn't exactly lay down on the floor in a public restroom. Keep the laughs coming, this is how I de-stress after work every day!

Hey, I absolutely LOVE reading your posts! Girls without humor need not apply for motherhood, am I right? By the way, I think one of your children may have snuck (snuck??)into my living room and did this to my Christmas tree...

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/3oclocksomewhere/

I'm sure you know this by now, but you're not alone : )

Jennifer

PS - Maybe I'll give up on jeans altogether and just go for the dreaded denim jumper.

Oh those were the days, sitting in class wondering if you were going to pass out because the jeans get so much tighter when you sit down.Right now I would love to find a pair of jeans that fit high enough on my waist to hold in whats left of my abdomen after four pregnancies with four very large babies. I'm so tired of going to the store only to find the low waisted jeans. I would rather keep my stretch marks to myself, thank you.

HaHaHaHaHa!!!As fun as it was to lay down to zip up jeans as a teen, today's kids have the added problem of jeans being low riders. Shrink those jeans and you'll look like a muffin fresh from the oven.I wonder, after the Mythbusters sat in hot water for 6 hours, did the jeans turn their legs blue?

When my son was three, he insisted on having Converse sneakers like Jamie. We still snuggle together and watch the show. I also have fears of coming into a scene of destruction to hear the explanation that he saw it on Mythbusters. Sometimes we have the "this is a television show and they have lots of people to keep them safe and remember, they said to never try this at home" talk -- but I am not convinced that it is going in ...

Dawn,My comment is not about your most recent post but just your blog in general. I love your blog! I am a mother of 3 young boys who I love and adore but am now 50% grey at the age of 35. You are helping me to relax and see the humor in things versus being so frustrated. With 3 boys ages 3, 5, & 6 my bathrooms require many wipedowns a down and honestly probably a full cleaning (which they don't get). I'm trying to learn to laugh at it when they completely destroy everything after I just got it clean and the fact that the laundry is NEVER ending. The 3 year old may need up to 4 outfits a day. He may pee on them or if he so much as spills water on himself he takes them off (they're wet, I want it off, & etc.) Reading your blogs make me realize my kids are not total misfits they are simply "kids" and this is life so accept it and learn to appreicate their quirks. Maybe my hair will stop turning grey. Thank you sharing your life. I can't wait for your book!

I have to say, that my late teens and early 20s I used to go to country bars and that meant the tightest jeans possible. It began with buying a size 3 pair of Wranglers, but I was a size 6. Then I put them in the dryer. My pants were so tight for so many years my mother says she is still amazed that my children were born 3 dimensional.

I spent most of the '80's either pregnant or breastfeeding so that was a lost decade for me as far as fashion went. I do remember though a friend of mine lying on the floor and using a coat hanger to do up the zipper on her jeans

My favorite palindrome is my Grand-daughter, HANNAH.Blue jeans and pliars back in the 70's, I wonder how many fathers wondered what happened to their pliars.I haven't watched that show yet but you all are tempting me.Hugs to the lady with the children with the special needs and to you Dawn for being so funny and sharing your life with all of us.

I saw that Myth Buster too and it brought back lots of blue-legged memories. I use to sit in a tub with jeans on to fade them, not to shrink them. However, I never laid out in the sun afterwards which I guess was a good thing, because I'm kind of attached to my legs.

I love the pictures of the boys! They look so suave & derriere...UH...debonair.

I live in fear of the things my boys might think of--and then I contemplate buyig "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and chemistry sets. And I think we just might try the Diet Coke and Mentos thing this weekend if it isn't too cold outside.

Dawn: Until I actually saw you hard at work at home(on that World News report): cooking,cleaning,refereeing and etc.,I really had no appreciation for the many things which you actually do every day. I wish you every success,and can't wait until your books are ready for sale. I just don't know where you find the energy!